09 April 2017

Meralco sprang back strong from its loss to San Miguel Beer the last time and ended Alaska Milk’s perfect run in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a dominant 99-91 win in their showdown at the MOA Arena in Pasay City last 8 April.

The Bolts scrapped and gutted it out with their fellow defense-oriented rivals, dealing the Aces the setback that left the Star Hotshots (4-0) and the San Miguel Beermen as the two remaining unbeaten teams in the mid-season tourney.

Meralco gave Alaska a dose of its medicine, employing a lockdown defense in handing the Aces a first loss in five outings.

The Bolts moved up to third place ahead of the Aces with a 5-1 card.

A hope for an endgame fightback vanished into the air as Alaska import Cory Jefferson had to be attended on the bench after sustaining a cut on his right eyebrow in a collision with Meralco counterpart Alex Stepheson with the Aces trailing by 18, 60-78, with 11:16 left to play.

The Bolts had stretched their lead to 24 at 86-62 by the time Jefferson checked back into the game.

The Aces did wage a chase but could come no closer than eight.

Stepheson and the Bolts completed a near coast-to-coast win, leading by as many as 25 before wrapping up the game.

The Meralco import finished with 26 rebounds and 17 points while Baser Amer stood out among the locals with 19 markers, nine boards, five assists and two steals in a sterling all-around performance.

Jefferson led the losing team with 32 points and 13 rebounds.

The whole Meralco team put up a great defensive job to break the game wide open right in the first half.

With a good job in getting the rebounds, the Bolts took the half at 50-35 largely behind a crucial 17-5 advantage on second-chance points.

Justin Chua had a solid first half where he rattled in 14 markers. Stepheson had 13 rebounds and six points while Amer had nine markers and six boards at the turn.

The Bolts imposed themselves early on the Aces, leading by eight, 27-19, in the opening quarter.

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PBA Advisory

2017 Commissioner's Cup Format

The tournament allows teams to hire foreign players or imports with a height limit of 6-foot-10.

The top 2 teams will earn twice-to-beat edges over Nos. 7 and 8 while the No. 3 against No. 6 and No. 4 versus No. 5 pairing will be a best-of-three affair in the quarterfinals.

The semifinal stage will have a pair of best-of-five matches and the finals will be a race-to-four affair.

Gilas Pilipinas

Manila will host one of the three tournaments in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The Philippine national men’s basketball team will try to pull off massive upsets against France, New Zealand, Canada, Turkey and Senegal in the competition slated on July 5 to July 10 at Mall of Asia Arena.

A total of 18 teams will participate in the three-nation event whose champions will book tickets to the 2016 Rio Olympics.